Finite
by buggaboo1
Summary: For a while, there had been hope. Hope that there would be a meeting of the minds, that she would find the key to his heart. She had been stupid, so terribly, terribly stupid. One-shot.


Loosely based on the marriage law challenge. One-shot.

* * *

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked harshly. 

Hermione looked up at the man who blocked her passage through the door.

"Get out of my way," she said defiantly.

"Not until you tell me what exactly it is you are doing."

"I'm leaving," she said. "Away from you, away from this place."

"You will do no such thing- your duty is here. Do I have to remind you that I am your husband?"

"As if I hadn't regretted that fact every second for the last five years of my life." Her voice was so hard it could have cut glass. "Now get out of my way."

The black-robed figure in the doorway did not budge. "I will not permit you to be an embarrassment to me."

"Don't worry. I'll be discreet," she spat at him.

"You are still my wife. You'll stay." There was a finality in his voice that made her blood boil.

" I should think you'd be glad to finally get me out of your hair." _You don't want me,_ she thought._ You have never wanted me. I have never been anything to you but a posession, a thing you own. If it wasn't for that stupid law, we could have both spared ourselves five years of misery. Five years is enough. No more._

He leaned against the door with a mocking smile. "Poor little Hermione. Mistreated. Misunderstood."

She didn't answer.

_Five years_. When she had received the letter stipulating that she would be wed to Severus Snape, Potions master, she had been scared to death. Barely of age, she had never shared more than a kiss with a boy - and now by decree of law she would be expected to share the marriage bed of the most disagreeable wizard at Hogwarts.

Yet at the same time, there had been a flicker of hope, of anticipation. He was a strong wizard, someone to be reckoned with. She had never been much attracted to him, but there was a certain level of respect for his abilities and intellect.

For a while there had been hope; hope that there would be a meeting of minds, that she could somehow find the key to his heart. _She had been so stupid. So terribly, terribly stupid._

"Do you really expect me to just let you walk out of here?"

"Yes." Her lips were tightly pressed together in a white face. "I've been unable to give you an heir in five year. That makes the contract null and void. So let me leave."

His lip curled in derision. "As I recall, the contract can only be dissolved if both parties are agreed."

"You will agree."

"Oh – will I?" he mocked. "What makes you think that, stupid girl? "

Her face hardened. "For one thing, the fact that I just drank a whole vial of Enthanos potion."

For the first time, his face lost composure. "What the …"

"So you see, _dear_ Severus," she interrupted him, "you either let me go, or you will have a dead wife on your hands in about two hours."

The only good thing that had come out of being married to him had been the expertise she had gained in potion making. He had not wanted a wife, but since he had to have one, he had only been too willing to take advantage of an unpaid assistant available any time of day or night.

She had discovered instructions for the Enthanos potion in one of the many obscure volumes in his library. A potent, tasteless, and odorless poison, it would kill anyone who drank it, unless an antidote was administered within a short amount of time. What made Enthanos different from all other poisons was that none of the common antidotes worked. In the final stages of brewing, the potioner could add any substance he chose, and that substance became the key to the antidote – so only the maker of the potion knew how to counter the death sentence. The perfect blackmail poison, outlawed by the Ministry, part of the Dark Arts. When she had found it, she knew she had found her ticket out, one way or another.

Hermione looked up into the dark, glittering eyes of her husband. "I deposited the antidote with a friend. Unless I get to his house before time runs out, I die."

Severus laughed, a cruel look on his face. "Do you really think that I would not rather see you dead than to see you make a fool out of me? I don't fancy the part of cuckolded husband. What is mine stays mine."

"But you see, Severus, there is more," Hermione said in the same silky tones he employed when at his most dangerous. "I also deposited an envelope with the same friend. Should something happen to me, he will send copies of the documents therein to the pertinent people at the Ministry. For one thing, Magical Law Enforcement would have quite an interest in records of exactly _how_ your potions research and the unsolved disappearance of Caradoc Dearborn are related, would they not?"

The Potions master's face was white with rage. Seizing her shoulders, he loomed over her, looking every inch the Death Eater. "You found the – "

"The lovely hidden compartment in your desk, yes," Hermione said smoothly, looking up at him without resisting. "You see, I wasn't called the cleverest witch of my year for nothing."

He suddenly let go, pushing her away.

"May I go then?" There was a triumphant light in her eyes.

"Go." He reluctantly moved out of the way, turning his back to her.

"We will simply disappear. You don't have to worry about embarrassment – unless you try to find us."

She turned around and looked at the black-clad back of the man who had been her husband for half a decade - a look that mixed fury, bitterness, and pity. She opened her mouth to say goodbye, say _something_, then changed her mind. There was nothing left to say. Let him stew in this hell of his own choosing for the rest of his miserable existence.

She didn't give a fig any more. As she walked determinedly out the door, she felt the burden lift. She was finally free of her prison, and at least for her there would be a future of hope, and light, and love.

---

The man she had left behind smiled a bitter but satisfied smile. His pride would have never let him push her into the arms of someone else. No, it had been much more amusing this way, making her think she had gained the upper hand on her own. He was actually rather proud of his performance today. With a few steps, he walked over to the bookshelf and pulled a book off the shelf. It still opened to the page that he had charmed to draw her attention. The Enthanos potion. Between that and the fake records in his 'secret' compartment he had been sure she would find her exit.

He walked over to the sideboard and poured himself a drink. It had been too late for him years ago; there was nothing that he had to offer her. He raised his glass in a silent toast. Five years. They had done what the insanity of the Ministry demanded. He would not give them one day more than that.

With a grim smile he recalled the triumph in her eyes. She really was a baby - had she actually thought she would be able to find something he didn't want her to find?

No, there was nothing that he had to offer her, nothing other than this - confidence and pride in her ability, and her life back. He downed the liquor in one gulp. _Goodbye, Miss Granger. May you live a long and happy life._

* * *

A/N: Standard Disclaimer – all characters and settings owned by JKR and whoever represents her. 

Reviews make me happy :-)


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